Falling
by Leioa15
Summary: Lex introductes a new character to the MallRats and the group at Liberty. She means well and can help in more ways than it appears she can. She is one of the few who can defy Mega and he doesnt even know it yet. Lex fears losing another person close to hi
1. The Beginning

"Why are you here?" was the first thing anyone said. And that was Amber.

The girl sighed, green eyes looking around. Lex spoke for her, "She's here to help with the _Mega _problem. I figured we need at least one more person who's good with technology and whatnot."

"How do you know she's any good with that sort of thing?" Jay asked. Lex smiled slightly. "Jack?"

Jack looked up, "Yeah?"

"How good do you think our friend here is about technology?"

Jack smiled. "Well, um, she was there when I, uh, learned it all, I mean, well, when she taught it to me."

Jay stared at her. "_She _taught _Jack_?"

"More or less," Jack said. Amber sat back in her chair. "Why would she help us?"

Lex opened his mouth, but the girl beat him to it. "Well, I'm definitely not helping Mega, if that's what you're worried about."

Lex smiled. "Yeah, give the girl some credit."

"Does she have a name?" Salene asked, only slightly intoxicated.

"Katelyn…" Jack said, staring at her. "Kate," Kate said, not looking at him. No one said anything. Kate stood up.

"Well, if anyone need's me, I'll be…" she waved her hand, "around."

"Actually," Lex said, "We're going back to Liberty."

"We are?"

Lex didn't look at her. "I have to go meet Ram and tell him about what's going on in the city, make sure Ebony hasn't taken over Liberty, and to make sure that Ruby and Slade haven't killed each other."

And she's going with you?" Jay asked.

Lex nodded. "Ram's having trouble figuring out this new program."

Everyone seemed to understand. Lex started out towards the door and Kate followed. She turned around. "Nice meeting you all…"

The Mall Rats smiled graciously.

Only until after they were gone did Trudy speak. "I don't like this…"

Jay sighed. "Don't like what?"

"I don't know…this whole idea of using Kate to help with the technology and everything…"

* * *

Lex began to walk faster. He wanted to get to Liberty before night.

"I don't think they liked me," Kate said out loud. Lex looked over his shoulder at her, his hair falling over his shoulder.

His eyes scanned her body. She wore a long green moss colored skirt that barely touched the ground and a black and green top. Her clothes admitted she hadn't been in the city long. Clothes like her long skirt could be tied up to her knees, but pants or something else would be more suitable for the city. Her long brown hair had streaks of blue in it and it was pulled back from her face and tied in the back, the rest fell down her back.

"The don't usually take well to strangers I pick up."

"That's funny, I heard that you don't like people too well and I think you're fine. And you didn't 'pick me up' "

Lex smiled, knowing she wouldn't see it. "Well, I sort of did, in their opinion. I don't make too many friends, so they probably figured you were a prostitute."

Kate stopped. "Excuse me?"

Lex turned. "I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes. "No you're not."

She walked ahead of him, quickly. He ran to her. "You don't know where you're going, so I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to lose me."

"I _do _know where I'm going and it doesn't matter to me if I lose you or not."

"You've been to Liberty before?"

She nodded. "If we're going to Ruby's saloon and Ram, Darryl, Ruby, Ebony, and Slade are there, I know exactly where I'm going."

Lex quickened his pace. "How did you know that Ram was there?"

She shrugged. "Word gets out fast if you know the right people…"

"What are you saying?"

"Well, I know a few people who know about it. But don't worry, they'll only tell if you pay a price."

"What sort of price?"

Kate looked down. "Since when is Ebony at Liberty?"

* * *

They were going to reach Liberty just before nightfall. Lex was surprised that Kate led for most of the way. This gave him a chance to watch behind them in case anyone was following them. He kept thinking that he was still wanted and Mega was probably looking for him, just like Ram and Jay. But Ram was 'deleted'.

He wondered why he kept going back to Liberty. At first it was the thought of getting away from the Mall Rats. Then it was keeping people away from Ram. Then it was Siva being there that made him go back. Siva. But now Siva was dead. He could have stopped it. He could have saved her.

It was ironic to him that every girl he loved, Zandra, Tai-San, Siva, all died. He hated that these things happened to him. He always found a way to blame himself. If they had never loved him- if he hadn't loved them, they would still be alive.

If he had never come to the city, never fallen in love, never talked to them, never have seen them smile, never thought about them…they would have still been alive.

His pace slowed and Kate noticed it. She was always glancing over her shoulder and seeing him out of the corner of her eye to make sure he was still there. When she looked again, he was rubbing his eyes, brushing hair out of his eyes. She was sure she saw wetness on his cheek.

Kate didn't say anything. She knew already if she said something, he would get hostile and angry. She thought it best to leave him to his thoughts. She knew about Siva. She had heard it from the same person who gave her the information about Ram. She wished that Lex hadn't lost someone he loved. She didn't know that it was his third.

She took a deep breath and trudged on. As they got closer and Kate was able to see the lights on in the Saloon, Lex walked up to her.

"Let me walk in first, I want to see what sort of commotion is going on," he said.

She nodded. Lex was the type of person who preferred having power and influence but he didn't want to lead. He wasn't a follower either, but no matter what situation happened, he would find a different solution and be off on his own. Only in serious matters did he agree with anyone, and he did that resentfully.

As they neared the door of the Saloon, Lex held out his arm in front of Kate, listening outside. They heard hushed whispers. Lex frowned, trying to make out the voices. Kate already knew that it was Ram and Ruby.

Ruby: "I don't like her…"

Ram: "You shouldn't…it's only natural to hate her…everyone does. Besides, she stole Slade from you…"

"I do _not _want Slade! And _besides, _didn't Slade steal Ebony from you?"

Ram chuckled and said, "Oh no, no one can seduce Ebony, _SHE_ seduces _them_…I'm just interested to see what happens when she's finished with him."

"I wouldn't trust her."

There was a silence. "Neither would I."

Lex walked in, Kate following him. "I'm back," Lex said pointlessly. Ruby rolled her eyes and then spotted Kate. She grinned. "I didn't expect you to be one to follow someone like Lex."

Kate smiled, going to the bar. "Me neither. It just happened we were both heading out this way. Besides, Lex said something about needing my help."

Ram looked at Lex surprised, both angry and bitter. "Lex? Needing someone? Ha, that's a laugh! The last time I saw Lex _needing _someone was when he was in love with Zandra…. and Tai-San…. and _Siva_**…"**

Lex's vision went blurry. All he wanted at the moment was to kill Ram. How dare he say something like that? Ram was still bitter about Siva, but that was no excuse for what he said. Lex turned around and walked out into the night. Ruby was looking down.

She looked up at Ram, who was still smoldering. "That was _low_, Ram. Even for you."

He shrugged and went back to his drink. He lost Java, and that was all that mattered to him. Sure, Lex had lost Java's sister, Siva, but that wasn't Ram's problem. Maybe Lex even blamed Ram for Siva's death. Ram could have stopped Java. Then both Java and Siva would have been alive. For both either cared, Ebony should be dead.

Ebony caused the stir between the sisters in the beginning, before everyone went to Liberty. Both Lex and Ram hated Ebony and she had been the one to kill Java. If Java hadn't been aiming at Ebony, Siva wouldn't be dead and neither would Java be. Ebony should have been the one to have died. If she died, no one but Slade would have cared, and both Java and Siva would still be alive.

No one moved to comfort Lex. Ruby and Kate knew better than that and Ram wouldn't even think of it.

Lex stood outside, still angry about what Ram had said. He hated Ram. It was just like the beginning. And in the beginning, there was Siva. Actually, it depended on what beginning he thought about. There was Zandra's beginning, Tai-San's, and Siva's. But now there was this, a time without any of them. For the first time, Lex had no one to go to. Not that he needed them, of course, but if he needed, no one was there. This was new.

* * *

Hope you liked. I'm not too sure about this one. It might not last. R&R as always s'il vous plait!


	2. Friendship

"So," Ruby said after Ram retreated upstairs, "What really brings you out here?"

Kate shrugged and took a sip of her water. "I'm not sure. I don't think I should be anywhere else, though. So why not be here?"

Ruby drummed her fingers in the bar top.

"Besides," Kate said, "I could be useful at some point."

Ruby was waiting for Lex to come back inside. She was getting impatient. He should have come in long ago. Ruby didn't care for Lex the way she did for Slade, but she still watched out for him. Suddenly, there was a commotion on the stairs. Someone came down. Kate hoped it wasn't Ram, Slade, or Ebony. She didn't feel in the mood to deal with them. On the other hand, she didn't even want anyone to come downstairs.

Kate stood up and stepped away from the bar, smoothing down her skirt. Lex wasn't coming in anytime soon, so she had better go and check on him.

"Hey, Darryl," Ruby said, just by her voice, Kate knew she was smiling. Kate turned around. A tall man stood there, annoyed.

" 'Go get _this_, Darryl!', 'Go get _that_, Darryl!' " he mimicked, "I hate this. If he hasn't noticed, he can walk now."

Kate realized he meant Ram. Darryl met Kate's eyes, realizing she was there.

"Darryl, this is Kate, Kate, meet Darryl," Ruby said, a sparkle in her eye.

"Um, h-h-hello?" Darryl said, unsure.

"Hello, Darryl," Kate said as cheerfully as possible.

The three of them stood there in an awkward silence when Darryl took a step back and said, "Well, I came down here to get Ram a drink…so that's what I'll do before he yells at me again…" He rambled.

Ruby handed him a drink and he went to the stairs. He turned around. "It was nice meeting you," he said.

"You, too." Kate said.

Kate when back to the bar and looked at Ruby. She sat down. "Why is he doing all Ram's errands?"

Ruby sighed. "Because that's Darryl. Darryl will trip over himself to get you to like him. Darryl is a friendly enough person, very human but he's quite vulnerable. I think he has a lack of self confidence and feels like he needs others to make himself feel better," Ruby came around the bar and sat in one of the bar stools near Kate, "It bothers me how Lex and Ram take advantage of him…"

"Where did he come from?"

Ruby shrugged. "I have no idea. He came from the city."

"I've seen him before…his voice sounds so familiar…"

Ruby smiled. "He should be familiar. He was the most popular face in the city for a while, everyone listened to what he had to say."

Kate stared, frowning, not understanding.

"He was Zoot…"

Ruby told Kate about the whole Zoot/Darryl scandal. Kate, again, stared. "And Mega pulled all this off?"

She nodded. "Yep. I think that's also something that affected Darryl. One minute he's nothing, then suddenly he has all this power, and everyone recognizes him, even if he's playing someone else, but all of a sudden, he has nothing again…. that's got to do some damage on a guy…"

Kate nodded. They sat there for a while quietly. Kate stood up. "I'd better check on Lex…"

Ruby nodded, she understood. Kate went to the door and stepped outside. She saw Lex sitting on the steps that lead to the Saloon door. He didn't turn around or look at her.

She went and sat next to him in the dark. He didn't even glance at her. He knew it was her even before he could see her out of the corner of his eye.

"Ram can be pretty harsh sometimes, you know that…" she said.

He shook his head, angry. "I don't usually let him affect me this much…"

Kate shrugged. "Everyone's human, Lex. We react at some point."

He stood up. "Everyone but me."

Lex went inside. As soon as he stepped inside, Ruby quickly turned away, suddenly distracted by wet spots on the bar top. Lex walked straight for the stairs and when he got to the first one, Ruby called out, "Goodnight, Lex," in a soothing voice.

After Lex had retreated upstairs, Kate went inside, deciding it was safe. Ruby looked at her. "How long do you think it will take to get him back to normal?"

Kate shrugged, picking at a seam on her skirt. "It'll be a long time. He lost someone close to him…"

"Yeah, and she wasn't even the first."

Kate cocked her head to the left. "What?"

Ruby sighed. "First there was Zandra, then Tai-San, then Siva. They all died."

Kate shifted her weight. "Lex seems to be the type of guy to ally with in case of emergency…"

Ruby grinned. "Everyone thinks that when they first meet him. But you'll soon find out that Lex doesn't side with anyone. He doesn't like people to think that he needs them even if he does."

Kate nodded. She knew those types of people. Both Ruby and Kate stood there silently. Kate stared at the worn floorboards.

Ruby cleared her throat. "Room 6 is free. It's just up the hall and the second door on the left."

Kate smiled. "Thanks, Ruby."

Ruby grinned back. Kate went to the stairs, climbing them carefully, holding her skirt up as she ascended. When she got to the second floor, it was completely dark. Ram's door was closed and Darryl's, two doors down, was slightly open and Kate could hear him sigh, trying to sleep.

Ebony and Slade's room, on the left, Kate tried to ignore. Next to Ram's room, on the right, was Lex's. The door was ajar and moonlight streamed in. Kate couldn't help but looking in, to make sure he was all right.

The window was open and she could see Lex sitting in the window frame, legs pulled up to his chest, looking out. Kate stepped inside slowly. "Lex?"

He turned his head, not surprised to see her there. Kate stepped fully inside his room. "Are you all right?"

He looked back outside. "It depends on what you consider 'all right' "

Kate sighed and went over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder lightly. "You didn't ask for any of this to happen."

"Somehow this doesn't make me feel any better."

Kate really wasn't sure what to say. She looked up at the sky. Ever since power was hard to come by in the city, the stars were easy to see.

"You know," Lex said quietly, "Everytime I lost one of them, I promised myself that I would not fall in love ever again. But then I met the next one and things were just so…."

"Perfect?"

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Yeah. Perfect. Then when they got involved with me, things just screwed up and they died. Because of me."

Kate tightened her grip on his shoulder. "You didn't cause their deaths."

He laid his hand on hers. "I know."

It was silent for a second and Kate was about to pull away when Lex's body shuddered and he sniffled. He sighed. She realized he was crying. His hand gripped hers. She stepped closer, her hip brushing his shoulder.

"Lex, I am so sorry," she whispered. He leaned back against her, his head near her chest. He took a deep breath and let out a shaky one, trying not to cry. He hated that he was this emotional around someone he barely knew. He barely knew her, and that was the reason he was acting this way. If it had been Ruby or even Tai-San, he wouldn't be doing this.

Lex turned his body and without even looking at her, slid his arms around her waist, burying his head into her stomach, crying even harder. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him close. She whispered soothing words into his hair, smoothing it down.

Lex sighed into her skin, both loving and hating the feeling of being that close to someone. Ever since Siva, he hadn't even touched anyone. Not once. But Lex liked the solid warmth of her, reassuring. He closed his eyes and held her tighter.

After a few moments, she pulled back and he understood. He stood up, wiping his eyes. He tried not to look at her. Kate tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled reassuringly at him.

"I'm going to go get some sleep, you should, too, Lex," she said.

He nodded. He met her eyes. Kate turned and went to the door, closing it behind her.

"Kate?"

She opened the door again and looked in, questioning.

"Thank you," he said, unsure, "I mean it."

She smiled and nodded, closing the door and going back to her room. As she crawled into the blankets, she wondered what the next day would be like. She hoped Lex would forgive himself.

Lex lay awake in his bed, thinking, still, about Siva. He had appreciated Kate's friendship. It seemed everyone he came in contact with had an immediate dislike for him. He knew that when the time came, she wouldn't abandon him. She was the type of person who valued friendship, he knew that already.

* * *

Well, I hoped you liked. Poor Lex..I know...but I had to. Anyways, more Kate/Darryl/Lex friendship in the next chapter! R&R as always.


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